B-School Admission Trends

This article is with the intention to share the latest trends of admission results of Indian Applicants who have applied to B Schools for Fall’10, the trend this year has been the increase of the applicants especially from IT- Pool, ( even the admission comitte of most B-Schools in US / Europe Would agree ), this  Obviously has made getting into Good B-Schools tougher.  So , what can make the difference ? 

GMAT Score? Of course GMAT Score is important, higher the score better the chances however is just a good GMAT score enough to get into Top Schools? No – With most of the Applicants coming from similar backgrounds in terms of work Experience, Academics and Background a lot depends on the application ( Essays , Recommendations etc..) , The applicant communicates to the Ad-Com through his / her application and hence it’s imperative to ensure the “BEST Application” is presented for the B-School. Now, what does “Best Application” mean? – Let us try to understand this, Based on my experience i would suggest the following to ensure a winning application.

1) Theme : Always have a Theme in mind before approaching the application this includes your experiences ( Both Professional and Personal)  and try to build your story based on that.

2) Goals : Almost every B-School will ask you this Question , It is a must to have your short term and Long-term goals clearly defined ,there can’t be any compromises made in defining your Goals, its  also necessary to mention what made you decide on the Goal’s .

3) Diversity : As mentioned earlier most of the applicants come from similar backgrounds and hence it very important to display what diverse skills / experiences  you posses.

4) Leadership : A B-school can facilitate the path to be a leader, However if you already have Leadership skills it will attract the Ad-Com , Any leadership activities in your life can be presented in the application , it’s not a necessity that you have a Managerial Role ( If you do it will add ), leadership is not defined by you designation but by your actions, organising a camp or an Idea that has been implemented can also be considered as Leadership Trait.

5) Social- Awareness : A Business leader is also responsible for the society , indicate different social activities that you’ve participated in throughout your life.

6) Language / Data :  Flowery language is not really required , however Grammatically correct and crisp language is. Ensure there are no errors while filling the online application for eg : Dates, GPA , Names etc..

7) Plagiarism :  A Strict No-No , Copying content from the Net or other applicant is a definite setback to  the application.

8) Choice : Outlay clearly why you have chosen that B-School , Subject and most importantly Why an MBA and what can it do for you.

9)  X-Factor : Stress on what can you bring to the class and how you will contribute to the School over-all. These are some points that should be kept in mind while applying for any B-School , There is definitely no single point strategy to ensure an Admit however a combination of these with a decent profile should at-least give you an Interview Call.

HAPPY APP’ing